The congregation was formed in 1841, as a part of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland's Canadian Synod, after the Missionary Presbytery of the Canadas of the United Secession Church of Scotland approved a petition from the people of Hamilton to be disjoined from the congregation at West Flamborough where they had been served monthly since 1837 by the UPC's pioneer missionary to the region, Thomas Christie.

The congregation was first known as the United Associate Church of Hamilton and met in a former schoolhouse at the northwest corner of MacNab and Jackson Streets with close proximity to two larger Presbyterian congregations, St Andrew's (now St. Paul's), the large Church of Scotland congregation, and MacNab Street Presbyterian Church, the second "Free Church". The congregation built their first church in 1839 on Merrick Street and in 1847, the congregation called Rev. James Ritchie Dalrymple as their first Minister. By 1853, the congregation was known as the United Presbyterian Church. A larger second church was completed in 1858 on the site of the original school house where worship began. After the successful union proposals inaugurated by their pastor William Ormiston in 1870, the congregation became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in Canada and became known as Central Presbyterian Church.

On June 21st, 1906, the 1858 building was destroyed in a massive fire. Undaunted, members raised the money for a new church at the present location. Designed by architect John M. Lyle, son of Central's minister at the time, Dr. Samuel Lyle, the building was opened on June 14th, 1908.

In 1925, the congregation voted narrowly (381-398) to remain within the Presbyterian Church in Canada. The Minister, Rev. Wiliam Sedgewick and many members left for the United Church of Canada.

The Building

The building is reputedly the only church designed by John M. Lyle, the Paris-trained architect and one of Canada's leading exponents of the Beaux-Arts system of design. Georgian in form, the imposing building is symmetrical and well-proportioned. Its most distinctive features - semi-circular stairwells at the ends of the transepts, an elegant, open arch tower and a tapering, octagonal spire - offset the flat wall surfaces and create a striking profile. Although a Sunday School wing erected at the rear of the sanctuary has been altered. The building retains much of its original character.

The building is enhanced by memorial stained glass windows. The window in the north transept, facing Charlton Avenue, is the most recent, having been donated in 1976 by former members of Central Young Men's Club.

The Organ

It was not until 1875 that an organ was permitted in the church, and then only to accompany the singing of psalms.

Following the 1906 fire, a new Casavant organ was installed in the sanctuary, still hailed as one of the finest organs in the city. A concert in 1918 featuring French organist Joseph Bonnet, attracted a crowd large enough to have filled the church twice over.

The original 1908 console was replaced by a new one in 1950 (Casavant, Opus 2031) and was rebuilt in 2007. Tonal alterations were carried out by Alan T. Jackson, of Toronto, in 1982. At the same time, the stoplist was translated in French.